Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1887-03-18
The Public Roads.

ment in Maryland have referred to 1t
chiefly as means of establishing better
devised and more efficient system of re-
pairing and maintaining the public roads.
The advantages resulting to the entire
community from we'll kept 'horoughfares
is admitted on all sides. Every farmers
lands are known to be enhanced in value
by good roads which places him practl-
caly nearer to the market for his produce
There is nothing which so quickly catches
the eye of the agricultural settler and is
so encouraging to immigration as we'll
KEEP. public thoreughfares. The Balti-
more Sun, in an article which we reprint
elsewhere, refers to these facts and Won
ders that. in so many of the counties of
Maryland where they have otherwise good
local government, the public road service
is SO poorly organized and Ineffective.
In an article last week we referred to
the fact that the subdivision of the coun-
ties in this sparsely settled section of
Maryland isto towns and the segregation
of the road tax paid in each township, in
stead Of Strengthening, would weaken any
public road system, by depriving it, not
only of unity, but of the means OF provid-
ing and maintaining the necessary labor
saving machinery and skilled superinten-
dence. 1t will be found upon examina-
tion that the superior condition of the
public roads in the States where they have
townships is not due to the township sys-
TEN of levying and disbursing taxes, but
to the fact that the State Governments in
those States have provides the means of
maintaining the public roads, by author
izing a poll tao for the purpose. The
means of carrying on the public read SER
vice having been thus abundantly pro-
vided, III execution of the work becomes
practical and easy.
In conversation last week with an in
telligent citizen of the State of Ohio, we
learned from him the practical operation
of the efficient public road system OF that
thriving State. There, though the coun-
ties are subdivided by the government
surveys into we'll defined townships, the
township system Of local government, ex-
cept to very partial and qualified extent,
daes not obtain. The county commission
ers levy, collect and disburse all local taxes
and superintend and manage the general
affairs of the county. But each township
of 36 square miles is subdivided into at
least four road districts. The people Of
each township elect annually road super
visor for each of these small road districts
By the constitution or laws of the State,
every male citizen between the ages of 21
and SO is required to perform tro days Of
gratuit us labor on the public roads, when
called upon by the supervisor of his dis
trict, or in lieu thereof pay the sum of $3.50.
1t is made the duty of the local supervisor
to summon every person liable to road
duty in his district and require him to
>perform the service, OF pay tie tax The
board of county commissioners, consisting
of three persons elected by the people of
the county, are the general superintend-
ents of tie county road service and from
time to time give their personal supervis-
ion to the local supervisors. The con-
structien of bridges and turnpiking, when
ever that is done, is done by special con-
tract to tie lowest bidder, the commits
sioners themselves supervising the work.
This is undoubtedly the system that
Maryland needs to put her thoroughfares
in all the counties on a par with those of
other States. 1t will be seen that it is
very similar in all its features to the local
system for this county known as the
"Page SYSTEM" which, during its brief
operation here some 16 years ago, showed
such excellent results, and laid the basis
OF the present superiority OF our roads
over those of the neighboring counties
The Page system was based upon the
Western idea and was an improvement
upon it, in that, instead of devolviag upon
the unskilled county commissioners the
general superintendent of the roads, it
appointed skillful superintendent for the
special purpose of supervising the con-
sruction Of roads and bridges and having
the custody and general direction of the
labor saving machinery devoted to that
service. Il will appear that the township
idea does not enter materially into this
system. The feature of small local road
districts, which seems to be an essential
one, could be accomplished without the
township subdivisions. This matter could
be left to the county commissioners and
the counties could be portioned off into
small road districts by themselves, or by
subcommissioners appointed by them.
In this county and perhaps in all the other
counties of the State, the present election
districts would probably be sufficiently
small road districts to be put under the
direction of the local supervisor.
The essential principles of the road sys-
> tenn that we need IN this State are, first,
that every male citizen of proper age, not
physically disabled, should be required to
contribute to the public road service,
either by actual labor or an equivalent in
money; second, that each county should
be subdivided into small road districts
not to exceed 25 or 80 square niles, to be
under the charge of a local supervisor
third, that each county should provide a
proper outfit Of labor saving machinery to
be used in any section of the county, as
occasion might require, and fourth, that
there should be skilled superintendent
for each county, who should supervise the
construction of roads and bridges, have
the custody and direction of the county